


Growing Up but Staying Small

by YeetAroundTheBush



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeetAroundTheBush/pseuds/YeetAroundTheBush
Summary: Sky and Picori bond in a forest, and Picori gets called home for another adventure. What has been days for the links has been five years for Picori, who has grown in all ways but physical. Sky is confused by Picori's weird behavior, and wants to know why Picori is so different.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

“I’ve been having weird dreams.” Sky paused his wood carving, turning his head to look at Picori. The pre-teen was leaning against Sky’s side with a book in hand. Sky wasn’t surprised that Picori was getting weird dreams as much as he was that Picori was talking to him about this. Usually whenever Picori got upset, he would talk to Wind or Time. Picori would talk to the former when he was upset about something considered ‘childish’. If Picori had a serious problem, he went to Time. Sky wasn’t sure why though.

“Okay? Are they nightmares?” Sky asked hesitantly. Picori shook his head, fidgeting with the hem of his green tunic. The boy wouldn’t meet Sky’s eyes, focusing instead on trying to find the right words. And so Sky waited. 

“No. Not nightmares. Just… glimpses. Flickers of something.” Picori said quietly.

“Do you know what they’re glimpses of?” Sky might get nightmares, but they were always complete.

“I-I don’t know…” Picori answered, eyes far away. “But they give me a really bad feeling…” Sky wasn’t sure what to say to that. Maybe they should ask Time? Who knows, maybe they were prophetic dreams.

“How about the next time you have one of these dreams, you write down everything you remember right after you wake up.” Sky offered. Sun had a dream journal when they were little. She had said that she never wanted to forget some of the things she dreamed. Sky would have to ask her if she still had it…

“Yeah I guess I could try that.” Picori said, looking up at Sky with a grin. “I knew it was a good idea to ask you about sleeping related issues!” Several people in the camp snickered.

“Oh that’s a low blow. You’d know about being low though, wouldn't you?” Picori rolled his eyes, muttering about overused jokes. Sky looked up at the rest of the group with raised eyebrows. Several Links quickly ducked their heads, and Sky shook his head at them. Why were they even eavesdropping on such a pointless conversation?

“I’m going to go look around. Maybe I’ll find something cool to show Dot…” Picori said, putting his book in his bag and standing up. He had almost left the clearing when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Take someone with you.” Twilight called from beside the fire. Picori rolled his eyes. 

“Sky, wanna come walk around the forest with me?” Sky blinked. He wasn’t expecting Picori to ask him, but he wasn’t complaining. He could finish his carving later. Sky stood up and walked over to join Picori, looking down at the boy with a small smile.

“What are you looking for?” Sky asked as they walked through the trees. Picori didn’t respond right away, intent on clearing some moss off of a stump. He must not have liked what he saw, because Picori dropped the moss back on the stump.

“Tree stumps.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Tree stumps.”

“Why tree stumps?” Sky asked, thinking back to his world. There was nothing special about a stump back home. It made for a good seat, but that was it.

“You’ll see.” Picori had started walking again. Sky let out a breathy sigh. They had been walking for a while, and that stump was the sixth one Picori cleared off. For someone who had such short legs, the boy could move really fast.

“Okay…? Can I ask why you’re wearing a hat?” Picori had put on a green cap that looked suspiciously like the hat from his knight’s uniform. Sky wasn’t sure what purpose it fulfilled, but if it hadn’t been for Picori’s brown pants Sky could have sworn the kid looked like he was wearing said uniform.

“Yeah, you can ask.” The kid was grinning over his shoulder, fully aware of what he was doing. By Hylia, Time was a terrible influence on the kid’s jokes. The two kept walking and checking stumps. For a while, nothing happened. Until Sky noticed a tree stump that Picori had missed.

“You missed a stump. Is this one less interesting?” Sky called ahead to Picori, watching as the boy turned around and sprinted back over. “I mean, this one isn’t even covered in leaves and stuff. It’s got a pretty big crack though.” Picori shoved Sky to the side with a muttered apology, and started running his hand over the crack in the wood.

“Alright! We’re in business!” Picori exclaimed, reaching up to make sure his hat was secure. Sky raised his eyebrow, glancing at the stump. There was nothing special about it. “Wait. How old are you?”

“How is that relevant to the dead tree? Whatever, I’m 20.” Picori nodded, jumping onto the stump.

“You’re too old to come with me then. Wait here. I’ll be back in an hour.” Picori said, and electric blue runes began to glow in the air around his head. Picori was lifted into the air, and Sky was concerned.

“What are you doi-” Picori disappeared. Frick. Sky was supposed to be supervising the youngest member of the group, who had just disappeared. What was he going to do? Fi was strapped to his back, and he could ask her but he guessed he wouldn’t get much of an answer. She would at least tell him if something happened to Picori. Without much else to do, Sky sat down on the stump.

At least it made for a good chair.

The first ten minutes he tried to work on his wood carving, but after he nearly cut off his finger Sky gave up on that. The next five minutes he spent listening to the birds and thinking about his loftwing. But his mind kept flashing back to Picori. 

“Why was I too old to take along? I’m barely an adult! Why couldn’t I help him with whatever he’s doing?” Sky exclaimed into the quiet of the forest. He got no response as expected. Another ten minutes ticked by. Sky was already worried, but the longer he waited the more worried he got.

Fifteen minutes ticked by with Sky nervously fidgeting. Should he go get the others? That might take too long though. But maybe it was the right thing to do? Legend might be able to figure out where Picori went. But what if Picori showed up when Sky was getting them? Sky decided to wait till the end of the hour, then go back for help. Only twenty minutes to go…

“Ten minutes. Only Ten more minutes.” Sky muttered, sailcloth gripped tightly in his hands. He had taken to pacing three minutes ago, but it hasn’t helped relieve his stress.

Five minutes. Five minutes until Sky would delve into full out panic. Picori was nowhere to be seen, and Sky was close to hyperventilating. 

Four minutes and he was pulling at his hair.

Three minutes and he was biting his lip.

Two minutes and he was jumping out of the way of a swor- wait. He could have sworn Twilight had said the forest was monster free. It didn’t matter, though, because he had to defend himself. Stabbing stuff is a great stress reliever. His attackers appeared to be bokoblins from Twilight’s ti- He was in Twilight’s time. Oh.

Sky jumped back, facing the three enemies with the master sword drawn. One minute and fifty seconds. He lunged forward, knocking the closest monster’s weapon to the side. Slash slash jab dodge, one minute and forty seconds to go. Dodge block jab jab. The first monster fell. The other two monsters seemed to realise that they couldn’t take him one on one, instead advancing together. Sky smirked. The stress was melting away.

One minute and twenty seconds. Sky decided he might as well draw out the fight. He had nothing else to do. He was definitely faster, so he stuck to dodging. Sky felt like he was whittling away at the bokoblins like he whittles a piece of wood, chipping off bits and pieces until he shapes it into its finished form.

‘One minute.’ he reminded himself as he tripped one of the bokoblins. One minute until he confiscated the hat that let Picori teleport. One minute until he could hoist Picori over his shoulder and carry him back to camp for a proper scolding. The creature hit the ground, losing its grip on its sword with a squeal.

Fifty seconds. Sky yanked the other bokoblins shirt upwards, effectively trapping it’s face. The one he tripped was starting to get up. Well, Sky couldn’t have that! He ran over to it and shoved it back down.

Thirty seconds. He decided to put the monster face down in the dirt out of its misery. He turned to the other one, saw it struggling, and shrugged. He kicked it a few times. 

Ten seconds, and Sky was staring at the tree stump.

Five seconds and the alive bokoblin had freed itself from its shirt and was attacking Sky’s back.

Four seconds and Sky was trying to dislodge the creature. Blue runes had begun to appear over the stump.

Three seconds and Sky was shoved to the ground, thrashing and kicking at the bokoblin.

Two seconds left. Sky managed to turn onto his back and punch the monster’s face.

One second and the bokoblin held his sword again. Sky felt the blade make contact with his arm. Ow.

“Holy crap! Sky!” Picori’s voice rang out. Suddenly the bokoblin had a sword in its gut. Sky felt Picori pushing him into a sitting position. “I’ve got a potion in here somewhere…”

“I’ll be fine until we get back to camp. I’d like some answers though.” Sky said, pushing himself to his feet with a wince. His back was definitely not okay. He decided to make his move, snatching the green hat off of Picori’s head with his uninjured arm.

“Hey! Give that back!” Sky shook his head, raising the cap above his head. Picori’s face drew into a pout, and he jumped up several times to try and grab it. The expression didn’t stay on his face for long, though, instead turning to a smirk.

“If you don’t give it back, I’ll tell the others you messed around with the monsters you were trying to kill.” Sky didn’t know what to say to that. This kid was good. On one hand, this item could be potentially dangerous. On the other hand, he didn’t want to be the one scolded when they got back to camp.

“Fine. Can I at least ask if you got anything cool while you were gone?” Sky asked, giving back the hat reluctantly. Picori grinned, reaching into his bag to pull out a semicircle red… rock?

“Wanna fuse kinstones? I got some new ones just now!” Sky didn’t know what a kinstone was. Sky looked down at the rock again. It was rather nice looking, and could probably make for a good decoration.

“No thanks… We should probably start heading back before the others get worried.” Picori nodded and started walking. Sky was about to follow him, but his back felt like it was on fire all of a sudden. Ah. The adrenaline had worn off. Sky stumbled forward, hand on the nearest tree to help him balance. “Y’know, on second thought that potion sounds like a good idea.” 

“Are you okay? That monster was really pissed.” Picori asked as he helped Sky sit down. Sky opened the bottle, tipping his head back and chugging the red liquid. He could already feel the wounds closing.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s keep moving.” Picori helped Sky stand up, letting Sky use him to lean and hold on to. “What is a kin stone anyways?”

“You- you don’t know what a Kinstone is!? How!?” Picori exclaimed. Sky shrugged. “Not having Kinstones is practically a crime! They’re one of the best things in existence!” Sky quietly pointed out that he came before Picori, so him having kinstones wasn’t that big of a deal. “Fine then. When we get back to camp, I’ll get one of the others to help me explain it.”

“Which way is camp from here?”

“I’m just following the cleared tree stumps.”

“You still have to explain your disappearing trick to me. That or I tell the group and let you deal with their wrath.” Picori groaned when Sky said that. 

“We all have secrets. Why should I explain mine?” Picori muttered bitterly. In Sky’s opinion, that was extremely flawed thinking. Normally he would have been okay with the younger hero keeping secrets, but this one was potentially dangerous.

“You disappeared for an hour. Your excuse didn’t explain anything either. It actually made me really worried.” Sky said, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. For a while, neither said anything. Sky glanced up at the sun’s position. Oh yeah, the others were probably really worried about them. They were going to have a field day when they saw his arm, let alone his back.

“Sorry.” Picori’s voice pierced the silence. It was so quiet Sky could barely make it out.

“What?”

“I said I was sorry. Y’know, for making you worry.” Sky looked down at Picori, who was currently doing his best to look anywhere but at him. “I won’t do it again without taking someone with me.” Sky felt himself relax.

“It’s okay. I won’t tell the others. It’ll be our secret. I’m sorry for using your potion.” Picori snorted.

“Just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you?” Picori asked. Sky chuckled, even though it wasn’t that funny. They lapsed back into a comfortable silence, pace steadily increasing in speed.

“Oh hey guys!” Picori exclaimed as they broke through the edge of the camp. Seven worried looking heroes.

“Where have you two been! We were about to send Wolfie to find you!” Hyrule said, running over to meet the pair. “What happened to your arm?” He tacked on, grabbing onto Sky’s elbow to get a better look.

“If you think that’s bad, you should see his back!” Sky let out a slow exhale. Picori grinned up at him, shoving Sky forward..

“Turn around and tell us what happened.” Hyrule ordered, flexing his hands to prepare to heal. Sky opened his mouth, trying to think of something that would hide Picori’s absence.

“I ran ahead a bit, and some bokoblins jumped Sky. They pushed him down and mauled his back! I ran back and slashed at them, and then Sky stood up and helped me finish them off.” Picori described, making exaggerated motions to punctuate his story. Sky nodded, wincing as Hyrule poked his back.

“You never told me what a kinstone is.” Sky said, and Picori’s face lit up.

“One of you guys have to help me explain it! I’ve got a few in my bag!” The rest of the Links were looking just as lost as Sky was. “Everyone put your crap down right now!” None of them did.

“Say shit instead of crap. It’s a lot more effective.” Wind told Picori with a grin. Warriors hit him upside the head. Sky wanted to as well.

“I think you’re the only one with these ‘kin stones’.” Hyrule said while aggressively wrapping Sky’s arm in a bandage.

“That’s practically a crime!” Picori yelled, dumping the colourful rocks onto the ground. “You guys have been missing out! Kinstones are these amazing rocks. Once you fuse two matching halves together, something good will happen!” The links took a moment to process this.

“Why don’t you tell us after you put out your bedroll. You should set it up before it gets dark.” Sky said, glancing at Picori’s bag. Picori nodded, picking it up and running to find a good spot.

“Wh-” The youngest hero squeaked as he tripped on the uneven ground. Normally that wouldn’t be such a problem, but Picori had tripped into one of the portals they had been travelling through. Sky reached down to grab his bag, ready to leave this time period. Except when he looked up, the portal was gone.

“Did the portal just disappear?” Sky asked, eyes wide. The other heroes nodded. All that stress from earlier was coming back. So did that panic attack that he was on the verge of having.


	2. Yes I toTAlly have three older brothers

Red was having a good day. It started like any other, with Link helping Grandpa Smith set up the forge. Grandpa wasn’t feeling the best, so Link had offered to work the forge for the day. So Link split to get all of the work done. Green and Vio stayed home to run the business with strict orders to get along from Red. Blue had offered to head into Hyrule Town to restock supplies(Which really surprised Red. Blue wasn’t the social part of Link.). Red was on delivery, dropping off swords and axes. At the moment he was over at Lon Lon Ranch (Unfortunately Time wouldn’t live there for several hundred years.) delivering a new axe to Talon.

“Here ya go sir!” Red chirped, depositing the new axe into Talon’s hand. “That’ll be fifty rupees!” Talon raised his eyebrow, dropping a purple rupee into Red’s hand.

“That’s less than what I paid for the pitchfork last year.” Talon said, thinking for a moment. “Not that I’m complaining! Tell your gramps I said hi, Link.” Red nodded, saying a quick goodbye before turning and running back to the forge. The path back home was familiar but slow. Red sighed. He wished he had brought the Ocarina of Wind, but Green had called dibs.

“Where are we now?” Red turned around, prepared to give these travellers directions. But then he froze. Because he recognized these people. He needed to get back to the others.

“Hey! Kid! Can you tell us where we are?” Warriors called. Red took a step backwards. Okay, they didn’t recognise him. He could work with that. 

“On the path towards Hyrule Town.” Red called back with a quiver in his voice, taking another few steps backwards. Play the part of frightened civilian. Warriors looked at the others, then back to Red.

“Can you tell us where somebody named ‘Link’ lives?” Red shook his head, turning around to walk away. He needed to get back to the others. Red looked over his shoulder to see the links forming a group huddle. In the middle of the road. Huh. Red shrugged. That only meant he had more time to get home. He turned his eyes forward, only to see Blue.

“Hey Red! Did you get the axe to Talon? Vio and Green have a few swords for you to deliver to the castle.” Blue said, grabbing Red’s arm. Then he caught sight of the heroes. Who had heard every word he said. At least Red was no longer panicking alone.

“You’re blacksmiths?” Red blinked. Red wasn’t sure what he was expecting. It was certainly not that.

“Yes. Can I talk to my brother for a second?” Red asked, shoving Blue forward to talk in ‘privacy’. With a link around there was no such thing. Good. Red was banking on that. “They asked about Link.” Red said in a somewhat hushed tone. In the corner of his eye he saw several heroes not so subtly lean forward.

“Why would they want to talk to our little brother? Sure, he did the whole ‘hero’ thing, but what use could he be to them? Look at that guy’s armour! They aren’t exactly in need of a hero.” Blue had caught on immediately. Several of the links stiffened when Blue said brother.

“Even so… business is business, right? If they turn out to be decent people, I’m sure no harm would come from whatever they need him for.” Red answered. Blue huffed, crossing his arms and turning to glare off into the distance.

“The last adventure didn’t seem harmful, and yet his best friend died. I’m just saying, things aren’t always how they seem. We should get Vio’s opinion before we decide.” Ah. Blue had decided to make them overprotective brothers. He could work with that.

“You’re only saying that because Vio’s the smartest.” Red said while giving Blue a small nudge, a grin on his face.

“I’m saying that because Vio’s the oldest. Come on, let's show them the forge.” Blue turned around to look at the links who were trying and failing to look casual. 

“So you guys said you were blacksmiths?” Twilight asked, nudging Wild forward.

“Yeah. You guys look like you need a new…” Blue trailed off, giving the group a onceover. “Ya know what? I’m too pissed to be rude. Our Grandpa’s forge is this way.” Blue started walking, dragging Red behind him. The links started following them in silence. About two minutes later Red spotted their house.

“If you need something repaired, head inside. I don’t think the room is big enough for all eight of you…” Red said, following Blue inside. The small room was cluttered with shelves which all held stacks of weapons. Red really needed to reorganize them. Blue slid behind the counter, beckoning for Red to follow him. 

“Have a look at the weapons on the shelf. We’re going to head into the forge for a minute and talk to our brothers.” Red said, pushing the door to the forge open. A wave of heat hit his face, and he smiled. Vio was hunched over the anvil, hammering away at a sword taller than him (not that that was such a feat.). Green stood by the desk, editing blueprints for several new weapon designs.

“Good. You’re back. We have several daggers that need to be delivered to the castle.” Vio said, picking up the sword and putting it into a basin of water.

“About that…” Red said, tapping Green on the shoulder to get his attention. “The heroes are here.” He whispered. Green’s eyes widened as he put down his pencil.

“What did you tell them?”

“That ‘Link’ is our younger brother. Actually they overheard that bit, but it doesn’t matter. Guess what part you get to play?” Blue said, punctuating his last sentence with sarcasm and jazz hands.

“Alright. We can work with this.” Green muttered. “Blue, put one of the new swords on the shelf and leave the door cracked. That way you three can use the same tactic while I’m ‘absorbed’ in my work.” Red and Vio nodded while Blue grabbed a sword. Green picked up a hammer and walked over to the anvil, striking at the surface to create the illusion of working. Red situated himself by the door so the links could hear them easier.

“See any swords ya like? If you want we can make something cust-” Blue had just pushed open the door and taken a single step. Red peeked his head around the door frame to see what had made Blue falter. Oh. 

Weapons were scattered all over the floor, probably due to the now destroyed shelves. Several were embedded into the walls as well. To top it all off, Wild was holding a goron picaxe with the handle snapped in half, waving it around excitedly. Warriors and Twilight were trying their best to put the scattered items back.

“Yeah, actually! Can I get one of everything?” Wild asked, turning around to face Blue. Red could practically feel the anger rolling off blue in waves.

“What the fuck. Why the fuck did you think it was a good idea to destroy someone’s property?” Blue growled, hand reaching for the sword on his back. Wild blinked, and suddenly Warriors and Twilight were standing next to him. Twilight had an eyebrow raised, almost daring Blue to attack. Wild was still admiring the weapons he had knocked over.

“How much for all of these?” Wild dumped about seven weapons on the counter. Red narrowed his eyes. Blue wouldn’t be able to deal with this without blowing up at Wild.

“Blue, how about you go help Vio?” Red suggested as he stepped through the door. Red laid a hand on Blue’s back, guiding him to the door. Red turned around to glare at the three. “This will come out to about six hundred rupees.”

“Your sign says eighty rupees per weapon. He only picked six.” Warriors said, leaning forward. Red almost laughed. Did Warriors think he was trying to scam him?

“The extra 120 account for the property damage your teenage friend here caused.” Warriors’ face moved from his usual smirk to one of realisation. Wild slid enough rupees onto the counter, and Red quickly grabbed them. “Thank you for your purchase. Now kindly never come back.” He spun around and stalked through the door, making sure to keep it open.

“Blue I think I agree with you now. We are definitely not letting Green travel with them.” Red said louder than necessary. Shuffling from the other side of the wall. They were listening. Green stopped hammering, instead ducking down behind the desk so he wouldn’t be visible.

“I was considering telling him, but then that scarred miscreant destroyed the shop! If he ever comes back I’ll give him something worse.” Blue paced the length of the forge, ranting to the three of them.

“What are we not telling our little brother?” Vio strode over to stand next to them. 

“A group of swordsmen asked me about Green. I’m not sure what they wanted with him, but they just trashed the shop.” Red crossed his arms, and in the corner of his eye he saw two heads poke out from the door frame.

“Hm. Well it’s a good thing Green’s in Hyrule town for the rest of the day. We do have to tell him when he gets back in about two hours.” Vio looked pointedly at Blue, who was still pacing. “Then he gets to decide what to do about them.”

“As soon as he hears what they did to our shop he’ll definitely decide against whatever they want.” Blue muttered, turning towards the door. “Red, help me clean the shop.” More shuffling from the other side of the wall. The exterior door opened and then closed. Red blinked. That was easy.

“Okay. So we should let grandpa know we won’t be here for an unknown amount of time.” Green stepped out from behind the desk, moving to shut down the forge. Red stepped into the trashed room, picking up many sharp objects off of the floor. He figured he should clean this up so Grandpa doesn’t have too. Blue stepped into the living area to go talk to him, and Vio was packing their bag for adventure.

“So the hero is in town right now.” Red paused, turning to the front window. Warriors was standing there informing the Links of that false information. Very loudly. Red threw open the door, a glare on his face.

“Get out of the entryway, you’re blocking honest people from entering.” Red snapped (he never got to be mean, so this was really fun for him.). The links quickly shuffled away, and Red went back to cleaning up. A few minutes later the four of them were standing by the door, bag packed and ready to go.

“So are you guys ready to go back to adventuring?” Green asked, a small grin on his face. Red mirrored it, because as much as he liked their life he also had missed the thrill of adventure. Red wasn’t the only one to nod. Each of them drew their piece of the Four Sword, the tips almost touching.

“Let’s go raise hell.” He said, and then they were one. Link grinned, stepping outside and grabbing the ocarina of wind. Time for act two of their little show.


	3. Sky tries to refuse sleep.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky hasn't slept since Picori disappeared. When they stumble into an unfamiliar Hyrule, Sky hopes to find the lost member of the party while fending off sleep.

Sky wasn’t having a good day. It was reasonable, given his situation. If you were to ask him, Sky would say he was fine. Sky was in fact not fine. It certainly didn’t help that he was getting little to no sleep the past three nights. The others were concerned. Sky without sleep was like a cat without a tail or a pirate without alcohol: something that was clearly not operating at 100%(Wind made that second comparison. He was still bitter about his rum being confiscated.).

“Would ya look at that! Another portal. I bet this one leads to Picori!” Warriors exclaimed, elbowing Sky. Sky blinked slowly as he stumbled to the side. Ow. Warriors’ elbow hurts, he thought sluggishly. Then the words registered in his mind. Picori.

“Sky, you look really tired! Do you need Twilight to carry you?” Sky turned his head towards Wind slowly. He shook his head, thoughts turning to how he was going to crush Picori in a hug then promptly pass out. It was a good plan. Practically foolproof. He moved to follow the group through the portal, distantly aware of a hand on his shoulder.

“Where are we now?” Sky looked down and shrugged. This definitely wasn’t the surface. There was a beaten dirt path that transitioned into cobblestone further down the road. Dang this place was fancy…

“Hey! Kid! Can you tell us where we are?” Warriors called. A young boy stood a meter away, watching the group with wide eyes. His face reminds me of Picori, Sky thought before shaking his head. Picori had a different hairstyle and wore a green tunic, not a red one. He was looking for similarities that weren't there.

“On the path towards Hyrule Town.” the child called back with a quiver in his voice, taking a few steps backwards. He looked scared. Warriors looked at the others, then back to the boy.

“Can you tell us where somebody named ‘Link’ lives?” The kid shook his head, turning around to walk away. Warriors motioned for a group huddle.

“What do we do? Is it a new Link?” Wind asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Picori mentioned a Hyrule Town. We’ll probably meet up with him soon.” Hyrule said, patting Sky on the back. Sky knew Hyrule was saying the second part for his sake. It was never that easy for them.

“Hey Red! Did you get the axe to Talon? Vio and Green have a few swords for you to deliver to the castle.” Sky blinked. There were two of the child now, but this one was blue. Hm. He was starting to hallucinate.

“You’re blacksmiths?” Did that matter? Sky thought. Wild was going to break any weapon regardless of quality, so why buy expensive ones?If he managed to break the master sword, he can break any weapon.

“Yes. Can I talk to my brother for a second?” Oh. The blue kid was real after all. The two turned around and stepped away from the group.“They asked about Link.” That caught Sky’s attention, along with the rest of the Links. Time leaned forward, eye trained on the red one. The two kids would have no idea they were listening!

“Why would they want to talk to our little brother? Sure, he did the whole ‘hero’ thing, but what use could he be to them? Look at that guy’s armour! They aren’t exactly in need of a hero.” Sky blinked. He didn’t know Picori had older brothers. That explains the slight similarities. The blue kid glanced at them, eyes narrowed. It was a good thing they were all acting inconspicuous. 

“Even so… business is business, right? If they turn out to be decent people, I’m sure no harm would come from whatever they need him for.” Red child answered. Blue child huffed, crossing his arms and turning to glare off into the middle distance.

“The last adventure didn’t seem harmful, and yet his best friend died. I’m just saying, things aren’t always how they seem. We should get Vio’s opinion before we decide.” Vio is a weird name. Maybe it was short for something…

“You’re only saying that because Vio’s the smartest.” VIOlation? VIctOry? There were a lot of possibilities, so Sky decided to drop it.

“I’m saying that because Vio’s the oldest. Come on, let's show them the forge.” the blue kid turned to face them, a scowl on his face.

“So you guys said you were blacksmiths?” Twilight asked, nudging Wild forward.

“Yeah. You guys look like you need a new…” Blue child trailed off, giving them a long, suspicious glance. “Ya know what? I’m too pissed to be rude. Our Grandpa’s forge is this way.” Blue child started walking, dragging Red child behind him. The hand on his shoulder was back, guiding him gently forward. A few minutes later, a house came into view, and the children went inside. Wild, Twilight, and Warriors followed them.

“How much sleep did you get last night?” Time had turned Sky to face him. Sky shrugged, looking at Time’s markings. Maybe they were tattoos. Time never really gave them an explanation. “Sky? Are you listening?” Sky blinked. Had Time been talking? He didn't notice.

“He’s pretty out of it. Why don’t we just knock him out and carry him?” Legend asked. Sky turned to glare at him.

“Don knock me out!” Sky exclaimed, words slurred. Legend rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag. Time retracted his hands, and Sky immediately fell forward. Right before he hit the ground, he felt hands pick him up and unstrap his bag. Rude. They didn’t even ask if they could take it. Sky was barely aware of the fact that he was being picked up. What he was aware of was somebody unstrapping the master sword from his back.

“Quit thrashing! We’re just trying to help!” Sky wasn’t sure who said that, but he wasn’t about to stop. They needed to stop. His arms were pinned to his sides, and he was not okay with that.

“Sky. We’re not going to do anything to the sword. Wind is going to carry it, okay? You just need to get some sleep.” That was Time. Sky relaxed. He could trust Time.

“Hey look through the window! Wild’s trashing the place!” Wind exclaimed, and Sky turned his head to check. Hm. Wild was indeed trashing the place. He looked so excited, like a kid that was just given candy. Perhaps that was the equivalent for him.

“Look at him go!” Legend let out a low whistle, eyebrows raised. “Who wants to be in charge of busting him out of the castle dungeons?” Dungeons. Sky was gonna have to build dungeons when he founded Hyrule. Why would anybody do crime though? The worst it got on skyloft was a childhood bully or two (Or the mysterious pot smasher, but Sky was still in denial that that was bad. He couldn’t just not smash pots!).

“Oh, look it's one of the kids. What was his name? Blue? He looks mad.” Any reasonable person would be mad if someone destroyed their livelihood. Is that how villains feel when heroes beat them up? Like their livelihood was decimated? Now Sky felt bad.

“The nice one that wears red is dragging him away, so maybe a fight won’t star- wait no he also looks pissed.” Wind was right. Red child looked very mad. Sky shut his eyes, going off of an old proverb Headmaster Gaepora told him. Out of sight out of mind. Whoever was holding him had a really comfortable shoulder.

“Shhh! he’s finally falling asleep.” No he wasn’t! He was just resting his eyes. He couldn’t sleep, what if Picori showed up while he was out? He needed to stay awake just in case. But he was so warm, and it would take too much effort for Sky to open his eyes.

“Oh thank Hylia it looks like the transaction is complete. We’ll probably be on our way soo- did Warriors just vault the counter?” Vault is a cool word to say. Vaaalt. Vauuult. What if you had a faulty vault? Faulty vaulty (In this moment Sky felt like a master of language. This feeling was very temporary.).

“Wild just picked up the desk. What is he doing? Should we stop him?”

“It’s fine, I think he only moved it so he could join Warriors in eavesdroppi- oh.” Sky frowned into his lumpy headrest. Eavesdropping wasn’t very hero-like. He would say that, but it would require too much effort.

“Thank the goddesses Twilight is walking around the desk normally. You did something right with mentoring him, Time. Wait, I spoke too soon. Is there a reason he’s doing summersaults?” Sky tightened his hold on… the thing he was holding. He didn’t know what he was holding, but it was warm (It was Time, but Sky didn’t know that. Wind had already taken several pictographs of Sky bear hugging their leader.). 

“Why is this a strategy we use?”

“Pardon?”

“Why do we eavesdrop to get information? Why don’t we just ask people?” That was a pretty good question. 

“I think it’s some sort of hero’s spirit tradition. When Sky’s lucid again we can ask him.” Sky grunted. His pillow stiffened.

“I ammm luci- lukid. Lucip. Thas a weir word, doncha thnk?” That was hard. Sky decided it was easier to stay quiet.

“Sure you are buddy.” A hand patted him on the head twice.

“Oh thank Hylia they’re leaving. We should cut our losses and try to find information elsewhere.” A loud bang punctuated the sentence. “Why did you try to kick down the door?” 

“That doesn’t matter. All that does is we got some information.” Sky was in that weird half asleep state where he could hear what was happening, but it wasn’t necessarily processing. He was able to recognize Twilight’s voice, though. It was rather deep, and very nice to listen too. Sky wondered if Twilight was any good at singing.

“So the hero is in town right now. If we wait by the entrance we should be able to find him before sundown.” Were they making a plan? Sky should be awake to help. He felt himself being picked up and placed on somebody’s back. Sky pushed his face forward into the soft fur, sighing as he got himself comfortable. He wrapped his arms around whoever was holding him with a small smile (Sky was currently on Twilight’s back. Twilight looked down at the arms wrapped around his chest and then up at Wild who was trying to get a picture.).

“Get out of the entryway! You’re blocking honest people from entering!” Sky jolted, falling backwards off of Twilight’s back. He started to stand up, his brain trying desperately to catch up to what was happening. He latched onto the nearest person (Twilight), holding himself steady.

“Whs goin on?” He asked, eyes darting around.

“Nothing, Sky. Why don’t you go back to sleep?” Twilight asked, a hand rubbing Sky’s back. Sky shook his head, still looking around. He needed to stay alert. Twilight sighed, letting Sky lean on him as they went to join the others. Sky focused on walking. Was walking usually this hard?

“Is he okay?” Wind looked concerned. Sky stumbled forward, eyes barely open because light hurt right now.

“I don’t know. We need to get to town. They probably have an inn we can sleep at.” Sky managed to open his eyes and keep them open. Why was everyone staring at him?

“Sky, how about you help Wild walk. He sprained his ankle earlier.” Sky blinked. He must have missed that. Sky ‘walked’ over to Wild, who leaned on him. They started making their way to Hyrule Town, Sky leaning on Wild instead. The spires of the castle were visible in the distance, and there was a boy wearing a patchwork tunic walking towards them. He looked similar to Picori’s brothers… Sky squinted at the boy. Does Picori have four older brothers? The kid looked absorbed in the book he was holding, and as they walked closer it became clear the kid wasn’t paying attention.

“Are you Link?” Time asked. The kid nodded absently, still walking. Sky liked his tunic. There was purple on it and everything! Purple was a hard color to find in skyloft. Sky was gonna make Zelda’s ceremonial sash with purple in a few years. He smiled. Zelda was so pretty and amazing and really smart too. She played the harp prettily and sang amazingly and was always kind no matter what. 

Oof. Something had bumped into him. Sky looked down. Oh. It was the kid. Sky wondered why the kid was looking at him like that. Sky felt arms wrap around his torso.

“Sky! It’s so good to see you!” Sky squinted at the kid. Had he met one of Picori’s brothers before? He couldn’t remember… He glanced at the other links, expecting to see other confused faces. Instead he saw relief and joy. Sky narrowed his eyes at the kid’s face. “Don’t you recognise me?” Sky felt himself nod. 

“Sky hasn’t been sleeping well, so his mind isn’t the sharpest today…” Warriors stage whispered. Sky didn’t know what he was talking about. Sky felt fine. He could go for a nap though…

“Picori! Where did the portal take you? Did you go on another adventure? Why did you change your hair? Sky whipped his head to look at the kid. Picori. The kid was Picori. Picori was safe. Picori was safe and hugging him. Sky slowly moved his arms around Picori, slipping his eyes shut. He felt himself relax, and for the first time in days there was nothing preventing him from sleeping.

“I think he’s falling asleep on me…”

“Oh thank Hylia. A sleepy Sky is a grouchy Sky. He can also get really sarcastic. He decimated Legend yesterday.” He felt somebody pick him up. That was okay. Standing was hard. He was warm and tired, and Picori was safe. 

Sky fell asleep before they made it to Hyrule Town.


End file.
